Second Chance
by ArizonaBay
Summary: Ukitake reflects on his life. Uki/Uno with bits of Shun/Nanao


Pairings: Ukitake and Unohana!!!!

Category: Romance, Hella Flufftastic!!!

Spoilers: Spoilers for Chapter 364. This is a 'once Aizen is defeated' fic, I'm sick of the endless fighting, lol. Time for some peace time fluff!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and I make no money from this. I only get the pleasure of knowing I put a smile on other UkiUno shippers out there!

Summary: Ukitake thinks about how much his life has changed since the war. However, it starts shortly after Ukitake becomes a captain and follows their increasing affections for each other. Then the moment that causes them to act on those fluffy feelings, followed by their domestic lives after everything has settled down.

Enjoy!

I can't remember the moment fate began to weave us together. No one ever realizes it until those gossamer threads turn to the spider's adamant lace. Perhaps it began the first time she met me as a patient. However, I'd prefer to think my gentle personality caught her eye first. There is one thing I clearly remember. The way my world stood still when I realized my affections for her. It had been the night of a summer festival. I was only beginning to recover from an episode of poor health. Content to simply eat some sweets and watch my koi pond, I felt oddly out of place in my own home. Like there was something missing, but I didn't know what.

Then I heard a knock on the door. There she was, still dressed for the festival. The pale lavender and gold trimmed kimono was simple, yet stunning on her small curvy figure. Her eyes were a royal sapphire, twinkling with satisfaction. They melded with my own sepia depths and my world broke in two. I'd always taken pride in knowing I only needed close friends and the devotion of my subordinates to be happy. However, that moment tore my previous serenity apart. In that moment I truly believed I'd never find happiness. While my heart fluttered with enlightenment, my mind ordered cease and desist. We were both captains. Anything besides simple friendship would be a conflict of interest within the Gotei.

Much later she confessed it was because she needed to be near me. Like me she was unwilling to let those emotions show themselves and simply used the basic fact I never feed myself well as her ticket. Holding up her prize of sashimi and white rice she stepped inside. She spent the whole night keeping me company. It was the start of a long careful waltz. Neither of us willing to bow out and begin a tango. A platonic hand on the back, pat on the shoulder or thoughtful glance was all we ever seemed to amount to. However, the decades wore on. The glances lingered, the shoulder pats turned to rubs and the hand traced whispers of patterns along the spine. Everything was carefully kept under the radar.

The concern in her eyes that greeted me during bouts of illness haunted me. I hated the chaos in her eyes, the slight quiver in her breath while healing me. I never quite knew how to ease her tension, I still don't. I hadn't felt sorry about my illness since boyhood. The day I noticed how her eyes glazed and dimmed during an exam was the moment I began feeling helpless again. I've heard the Captain Tuberculosis jokes, even laughed in good humor with them. Truthfully I'd give anything to have something that curable. My curse is genetic. No one understands it beyond my own body attacking lung tissue and causing lesions. Unohana's blessed teas and medicines sooth and stall their growth, but can never repair damage once it's done. No one understands my prognosis better than her, save Kyoraku.

I thought it was best to keep our distance not just because of our positions, but because of the heartache my illness would cause. I was such a dense man, I didn't perceive the heartache loneliness was inflicting on us. As with so many things that realization took the worst mistake I ever made. One that literally cost me my life.

It was during the final battle with Aizen when Wonderweiss struck me from behind. I don't remember much, just the shock and the blood. Then I hit the ground along with the pain. Vaguely I could hear what was going on. However, I couldn't keep my mind on it. A long time ago I became a captain so I'd be able to reflect on all my accomplishments when my time came. However, my time came and I could only think of regrets. I was willing to give anything to have one more day. Even one more hour. Just so I could tell Retsu I loved her. It didn't matter if she never returned the phrase, only that she knew.

As if someone was answering my prayers I felt her reiatsu. Her face finally came into my fading vision. Terrified stormy oceans looked down at me. My eyes watered as my pain intensified from her attempts to heal me. I felt my upper body leave the ground. Opening my eyes I realized she was holding me. Numbness filled my chest as I tried to focus on her face. With grim awareness I realized she had switched to a kido that purely relieved pain. As my eyes adjusted the first thing I observed was the glossiness on her cheeks. Then the peculiar glossy substance dripped from her chin. The sight of her crying, the heartache and despair sullying her beautiful face will never stop torturing me. Nearly forgetting my prayer I tried to tell her. I was horrified to find the only thing I could do was gargle my blood. Woefully I looked into her eyes, trying to apologize for every missed chance. She kept me in her protective embrace while I quickly faded to black.

Shunsui told me Retsu snapped when I died. The first thing she did was destroy Wonderweiss. Then she assisted Kurosaki, Kyoraku and Yammamoto in defeating Gin and Aizen. Afterward she sat next to me, holding my cold hand. Shunsui, and others, claim she wept like a grief stricken widow. However, a goddess in a human girl's skin smiled on us.

Orihime brought me back. I'll never know what sort of limbo I was in during that time. After the absence of life forced my eyes close the next thing I remember is opening them. Sitting up I blinked in disbelief and examined my chest with confusion. My eyes found Retsu's face as she called out to me. Kneeling beside me her arms pulled my torso against hers. I returned the embrace with trembling arms, not yet confident in reality. Slender fingers slid over my cheeks while her eyes became level with my own. We ended over a hundred years of frustration with a first kiss in front of everyone. It was sweet and desperate. By far one of my favorites.

Our fears regarding our duties proved feckless. No one questioned the decision of two senior captains. My trepidations over my illness were redundant as well. Who better than a healer to understand how illness complicates relationships? Our relationship took off quickly. We became lovers upon the first chance given to us. Suddenly I couldn't imagine my world without waking up to her and coming home to her. I thought everything was complete and I was content to keep our lives as they were. Even Kyoraku had won Nanao's heart publicly. It seemed everything was as it should be.

My world was about to change, reinvent itself, without warning. Well perhaps I should have thought about it, but I assumed Retsu would have informed me if the situation was possible. After all she was an older woman and a female shinigami's cycle only happened once every two or three decades. But, she surprised me one afternoon. It was on my birthday, a brisk December day with clear cool skies. She had invited Shunsui and Nanao over to celebrate. She waited till they had given me their gifts then extracted hers from the closet. Her eyes twinkled with mischief and a foreign radiance. With a sly smile she commented that this was an accessory, the real gift was still on its way. With a bemused nod I opened the colorful gift box. I heard Nanao stifle a giggle, undoubtedly a part of the surprise. Shunsui stared on with a blank smile, utterly uninformed about the gift.

Pulling the gift out it took me a moment to comprehend the significance. It was a pale blue onesie. As I flipped it around I noticed the phrase printed across the front in gold lettering. ' I love my Daddy' slowly sank into my mind. Shunsui bellowed his congratulations, breaking my mental freeze. Looking up she greeted me with a radiant smile and sparkling eyes. Standing I wrapped her in my arms and attempted to show my elation with a kiss.

Several months later the real gift, my son, finally came. I had been worried sick he'd inherit my illness. However, he's a perfectly healthy boy. The first time I held him I fell in love. He had downy black newborn hair and soft brown eyes that looked at me for two seconds before screaming. Eventually I got the hang of baby care. I even missed it when he was finally out of diapers. Before I knew it he summoned his Zanpakuto. It was time for Hideki to attend the academy. Shunsui's boy followed him the next year. To our delight the boys became good friends. It was also the year Retsu conceived our daughter. After one healthy child I felt I had little to worry about. However, my old fear came back to haunt me.

A few weeks before my baby girl was born Retsu told me. My daughter inherited my illness. Knowing the kind of suffering she would endure broke my heart. Retsu assured me she'd been healing the baby's lungs, giving our little girl a better chance. When she was born she looked so much like Hideki it was easy to forget she wasn't as fortunate in health. But, we quickly learned Megumi was a fighter. She had her first bout of illness when she was two years old. She pulled through and I knew she was going to be her father's daughter. A few years later she had an attack that lasted for several days. A few weeks later we noticed her roots were white. Once the white hair grew in everyone commented that she looked like me. I couldn't help but notice how much she acted like me as well. While Hideki's powers made him a good healer it was becoming clear Megumi would have combat oriented abilities. Much to my displeasure. I was half hoping she wouldn't be a shinigami, that she would marry a good man, maybe even one of Shunsui's boys, and have a quiet happy life. But that dream ended today.

My little angle is presently proudly displaying her Zanpakuto. It is an elegant balanced blade with a hilt bound in blue leather. A smile spreads across my face as she eagerly announces she'll be a captain just like me some day. Her snowy white pig tales bounce vigorously while skipping around the kitchen. Bending down I take her sword and set it on the counter before scoping her up. I inform her she has many decades of hard training in front of her. She smiles and kisses my cheek while wrapping her little arms around my neck. Briefly I eye her sword and wonder what kind of abilities it will bestow her. Shaking my head I clear my thoughts and focus on the fact she's still just a little girl, my baby girl.

I begin preparing our tea. This time of day has become our special time. I blow on her tea cup as she babbles away. Sadly I realize in another year she'll have to attend the academy. As we sip on our medicinal tea she cuddles into my side and a comfortable silence settles on us. Thinking back I realize how lucky I have been. For the billionth time I thank the gods for Orihime, for the second chance at happiness.

Finished!

Just a lot of fluff! If you liked it please leave a review!

I've never tried a strictly 1st person perspective before so let me know what you thought!


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